DEARBORN – Last week the announcement of  Jack O’Reilly’s candidacy to seek a second term as Mayor, as well as the announcement of Attorneys Tarek Baydoun and Susan Dabaja seeking one of seven city council positions kick started the city’s Municipality race. The primary elections will be held on August 6, and from there the top vote getting candidates will move on to the General Election on November 5.

Along with the seven city council positions and the Mayor position, also up for grabs is the city clerk position. A primary election will be held if the number of candidates for a particular race is more than double the available seats. Three people would need to run for clerk, three for mayor, and 15 for city council to necessitate a primary election. Otherwise, verified candidates will head straight to a general election on November 5.

In 2009, more than 25 candidates competed for seven Dearborn City Council seats in the primary election.

According to the City Clerk’s Office, ten candidates have so far pulled petitions to run for city council. All candidates are required to get 100 valid signatures of registered Dearborn voters by the May 14 deadline in order to be placed on the ballot during the primary. Candidates may turn in up to 200 signatures, which will then be checked and verified by the clerk’s office. A signature will be considered valid if the signer is a verifiable Dearborn resident who is also registered to vote in Dearborn. Signatures and petition sheets must also meet a number of other criteria, as identified by the State of Michigan.

All candidates must pull petitions to file to run for office, even if they are already an elected official.

Candidates who have pulled petitions for city council so far are; Colette Richards, a Dearborn Public School employee and Former Crowley Park Neighborhood Association President; Michael D. Albano, a Dearborn Telecommunications Commissioner and co-host and founder of The Telecom Show on CDTV;  Maureen McIlrath-Noland, who currently serves on the City Beautiful Commission, a position appointed by Mayor O’Reilly;  and Steven Guibord, a Dearborn Parking Commissioner.

Other candidates who pulled petitions were Robert Bochenek, Robert Watson and Patrick Melton, but The Arab American News was unable to obtain background information on these particular candidates at press time.

Mohamed Berro, an Arab American, has also pulled petitions for the race. He joins Dabaja and Baydoun as the only three Arab American candidates in the running so far. As of February 12, Susan Dabaja is the first official candidate to turn in 100 valid signatures. 

According to the City Clerk’s Office, no incumbents on the current city council have yet pulled a petition, but that could still change in the coming months. City Clerk employee Cathy Hall, who has been working with the office for 16 years, says the race has been no different than previous Municipality races.

“It’s seems about on pace with the last election, but it’s still very early and kind of  hard to tell. Some people might say one thing and then end up doing another.  Sometimes when petitions are pulled, they might not even end up returning it back,” Hall said. 

Mayor Jack O’Reilly, who ran unopposed in 2009, might have an opponent this year. According to the City Clerk’s Office, Edward Binkley, a longtime resident and supporter of the Dearborn Historical Museum and city recreation programs has pulled petitions to run for Mayor, but has yet to return his signatures. Despite Mayor O’Reilly’s announcement last week to seek another term, he has yet to pull his petitions, but is expected to do so sometime soon. 

O’Reilly served as City Council president for 17 years — the top vote-getter in each election gets the title and its responsibilities. Per the city charter, he became interim mayor when Michael Guido died on Dec. 6, 2006, and was elected in February 2007 to serve the remainder of Guido’s four-year term.

For the City Clerk position, only Incumbent Kathleen Buda has pulled her petitions. She is expected to seek re-election for a fifth consecutive term. In the meantime residents are encouraged to register to vote if they have not already. Applications can be filled out at the city clerk’s office, secretary of state, or at the Drivers License Bureau at the Dearborn Police Department. Residents can also register online at http://www.michigan.gov/vote and mail their applications to the City Clerk’s office.